The 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational begins on Thursday and one of the first-round matchups for the eight-team tournament will feature the South Florida Bulls taking on the Portland Pilots. South Florida won 25 games a year ago but is dealing with an enormous tragedy after head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim passed away unexpectedly last month. The Bulls are 2-2 with Ben Fletcher trying to guide the program under incredibly difficult circumstances. Meanwhile, the Pilots are also 2-2 on the season.
Tipoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET at the HTC Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Bulls are 9.5-point favorites in the latest Portland vs. South Florida odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 146.5. Before entering any South Florida vs. Portland picks, you need to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 3 of the 2024-25 season on a 156-114 betting roll (+1762) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has dialed in on Portland vs. South Florida and just revealed its coveted picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the college basketball betting lines and trends for USF vs. Portland:
- Portland vs. USF spread: Portland +9.5
- Portland vs. USF over/under: 146.5 points
- Portland vs. USF money line: Portland +331, USF -429
- Portland vs. USF picks: See picks here
- Portland vs. South Florida streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Portland can cover
Shantay Legans is in his fourth season at the helm for Portland and is hoping that he can finally stop the program's slide after winning 19 games in his first year, 14 in his second and 12 last season. The Pilots have shown progress early, taking Oregon to overtime on the road last week and then following that performance with a 63-61 win on the road over Long Beach State.
Freshman forward Austin Rapp had 18 points to lead all scorers in that victory and Vukasin Masic stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. Rapp is averaging 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season, while Masic is averaging 15.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. See who to back at SportsLine.
Why South Florida can cover
After losing their first two games of the season against Florida and College of Charleston, the Bulls have rebounded with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and West Georgia. Despite shooting just 29.6% from the 3-point line, South Florida is averaging an impressive 78.3 points per game.
They're allowing 77.0 points per game, but they have been impressive at running their opponents off the 3-point line. Opponents shoot just 23.6% from beyond the arc against South Florida and the Bulls rank 13th in the nation in 3-point shooting defense. See who to back at SportsLine.
How to make USF vs. Portland picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, predicting the teams combine for 150 points. It also says one side of the spread hits in well over 60% of simulations. You can see the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins USF vs. Portland, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up well over $2,000 on top-rated spread picks since its inception, and find out.